


I Will Protect You

by ObeyDontStray



Series: In Another Life (AU collection) [12]
Category: Stranger Things - Fandom
Genre: Bodyguard AU, Comfort, F/M, Hurt, Protect
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-09-27
Packaged: 2018-12-09 09:37:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11666493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObeyDontStray/pseuds/ObeyDontStray
Summary: Disgraced starlet Joyce Byers needs protection from her manic ex husband. Help came in the form of a six foot two former FBI agent with broad shoulders and dark blonde hair. And the most devastating blue eyes she could remember ever seeing. (Will be continued!)





	1. You Don't Deserve This

**Author's Note:**

> Loosely based off of The Bodyguard. For tinyryder on tumblr! Prompt requested by starmaammke!

A disgraced starlet, battered woman, shameful addict. Actress Joyce Byers' prescription pain killer addiction as well as her short lived, manic marriage was now well known to the media and candid pictures of her were now in hot demand. On the flip side, Joyce needed some sort of safety and security as she travelled to and from rehab. 

Help came in the form of a six foot two former FBI agent with broad shoulders and dark blonde hair. And the most devastating blue eyes she could remember ever seeing. 

He pulled her hoodie up and over her head, shielding her eyes. "Just keep your eyes on the ground." He advised her, taking her arm. "I'll get you to the car." 

She was pondering if the old adage about a man's foot size applied to him, because he had pretty big feet, when a pair of hands seized her other arm. "Hey!" He yelled and she felt him throw himself around her other side, her arm against his back. She dared to peek from under the hood and found him wrestling her ex husband. "Joyce! I still love you!" Lonnie yelled.

Her bodyguard shoved Lonnie to a pair of officers standing nearby and he took her by the arm once again, pulling her coat back over her head. "Piece of shit." She heard him mutter as he lead her to the car, holding the door and helping her inside. 

Lonnie had made several attempts to get back with her. He'd violate the restraining order, sit in jail a few days, and repeat the process again once he got out. Hence her agency pairing her with Jim Hopper. 

"Slide over." He urged and when she obliged he slid into the back seat of the town car next to her. Hands pounded against the darkened windows and faces pressed garishly against the tint. Joyce shrunk back into the seat, trying to make herself as small as possible. 

"I never wanted this. Any of this." She said, her voice cracking. "No one ever wants this sort of thing." He said indifferently. Then he noticed her tears. "Hey. I'm sorry. That came off kind of cold." 

Her hands shook as she reached for him. He swallowed hard and made a motion to move away but she followed him. "Please?" She said in a small voice, hands open and palms against the lapels of his suit. "No one will see us. I just need someone." 

His eyes darted from window to window but he didn't protest when she moved to the center of the seat, under his arm. She buried her face in his dress shirt, next to his maroon tie. Eventually he relaxed, hand moving up to stroke her hair as she cried. 

"You don't deserve any of this ." He said quietly as she pulled his arms around her.


	2. Threatened

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joyce gets a nasty surprise.

"It's too hot to stand out there in the sun like a guard dog, Hopper." Joyce said quietly from the door of her trailer. "Come in here where it's cool. You can protect me just as well from in here." 

He gave her a look as she held the door open for him. He wanted to remark on how beautiful she looked. This was slated to be her comeback role, a romance flick with her as the leading lady. And she was a vision in the floor length racy red number she was wearing. Sparking jewels at her throat and ears, smokey makeup and her hair up in attractive tendrils. 

Hopper's mouth was suddenly dry and he thanked her when she passed him a glass of champagne. 

He sat on the couch across the trailer from where she sat in the rolling chair at the vanity as she sorted through her mail. A figure at the door of the trailer caught his attention. 

"Joycie!" Called Karen Wheeler, Joyce's best friend and stylist. Jim gave her a nod hello before she hooked a finger beneath his chin and lead him to stand. He gave her a puzzled look as he did so. "Tailor that suit a little, maybe go with a flashier color. Trim the beard up...they could have cast you as her beau in this movie Hopper." Karen said, giving him a grin and he sputtered. "No no, I'm just her bodyguard." 

Karen gave him a sly smile. "I like you a lot better than the yutz they casted as leading man in this movie. It's a shame your wasting your looks in the private security field." He gulped and sat down quickly, retrieving what was left of his champagne.

Joyce's alarmed yelp startled both of them. He was at her side in an instant. 

Joyce covered her face with both hands, staring down at the piece of mail she had opened. A dead rat lay half way out of the envelope and the smell was atrocious. Jim fished out the cut and paste letter included which threatened her life, citing that she had ruined this person. She gripped Jim's arm to her chest. 

He withdrew his arm and gathered the envelope, throwing the dead animal into the trashcan and setting it outside the trailer. 

Karen's face was the picture of worry as she held and consoled her friend. Jim took his seat on the couch again. "You don't go anywhere without me, understood?" He asked sternly. "Lonnie is one thing, but this person is threatening your life." 

She nodded like a small, scolded child. A knock on the trailer door startled all of them. 

"Joyce, your needed on set in five!" 

Karen pressed a kiss to Joyce's hair. "You'll be just fine, Joycie. Jim has got you." Joyce glanced over her shoulder in the mirror's reflection and he nodded in agreement. Joyce stood and smoothed her dress and stepped from the trailer. When Jim stepped out behind her, she reached out for his arm. He let her and hand in hand, they walked to set.


	3. Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joyce's stalker amps up the danger.

"Oh look!" Joyce said from her vanity chair, brandishing a teddy bear. "Isn't it adorable? It's from a fan!" She said cheerily, showing the bear to Karen.

Hop crossed the room to her and held his hand out for the bear. She passed it over with a sad look, knowing he'd take it from her anyway. He began mashing and feeling the bear. "Hop what are you up to?" 

His brow furrowed and he tossed the bear across the room, away from the ladies and himself. In a split second he had both women under him as he pinned them to the vanity. 

There was a loud bang behind him and the smell of fire and both women gasped, clutching Hop's jacket. 

When he was certain they were safe, he looked over his shoulder at the evidence of the small explosion. The bear lay burning on the floor, the flames scorching the wall behind it black. Both women cried out in alarm as a tech ran in with a fire extinguisher. 

"I was just holding that!" Joyce said in amazement. "Hopper, you could have been hurt. We could have been hurt!" She smoothed her hands up Hopper's shirt and fussed with his lapels. "What if it went off when you were holding it?" She asked. 

"It didn't." He said matter of factly. "No more opening fan mail until this maniac is caught." 

"Oh this is Lonnie's madness!" She cried out in anger. "I wish I had never met him!" She covered her face with her hands as she began to cry. Karen hovered about her shoulders, giving them a reassuring rub. 

 

.  
Later that week Karen and Joyce met for lunch at a ritzy bar with Hopper in tow. "How nice of you to join us, Hop." She teased when he stood nearby, hands clasped behind his back. "Will you sit down here and act human for a little while? This is a public, very busy bar. Nothing's going to happen here." 

"Perfect opportunity for something to happen." He replied. 

"If you sit, we'll buy you a drink." Karen offered. He eyed both of them. "Sit, sit." Joyce urged. 

The three fell into easy discussion as they drank and ate. The girls were pleased to find him surprisingly funny when he dropped his serious demeanor. He was halfway through a story about his college days when they were interrupted. 

He saw the cameramen closing in on them and moved to take Joyce's arm. 

"Joyce, Joyce! Who are your friends?" The interviewer asked, shoving his microphone in her face. "Please, leave me alone!" She replied lowly as Hopper shoved the camera out of her face. He took her by the arm and reached out to signal to Karen to follow. 

He was batting away the paparazzi when Joyce's gasp alarmed him. She tugged at his elbow and pointed to her car. The tires were slashed, and long scratches were keyed into the side. Hop let out a defeated sigh. He took out his cell to call for a tow as he signaled for a taxi. 

Once inside the cab Joyce sat quietly between he and Karen. She held Karen's hand like a lifeline. Hopper was glancing at her when his phone buzzed in his pocket. 

He answered and listened. "I understand. This is a problem." He said sternly. "I'll tell her. She needs time away, now. Talk to the director and producers. She cannot work until this is resolved." He tucked his phone back into his pocket. 

"Joyce." He said turning towards her in the seat. "Lonnie is dead." Both women let out a collective sigh. "Good riddance!" Joyce spat. "Now all this madness will stop!"

"He died yesterday in a car accident."


End file.
